No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days Paperback – September 9, 2004

MY STORY: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2004 started on Nov 1st of that year. It was Nov. 2nd when I remembered the event had started, so I grabbed a pre-existing novel idea/outline and jumped into the unknown. Nine days later and my discovery writing method produced only 7,000 new words. I was done. I had failed. I felt like an idiot for having started late; plus thinking I could write 50,000 words with only an idea in my pocket and some excitement for this new challenge.

I chatted with a couple of people who said they spent two weeks prior doing story outlines and character drafts and that helped them finish, which only made me feel worse about my "unpreparedness". I quickly justified my own failure with a ton of lame excuses and within an hour or two of quitting I treated myself to some chocolate-chip cookies, almost guilt-free.

Before the 2005 NaNoWriMo I got my hands on this book. Chris Baty totally made me feel like I could have and should have stuck with it in 2004, regardless of how far behind I was by day nine. This book made me laugh, made me cry, and made me feel inspired to take this challenge every month between November 2004 and November 2005. I got motivated! I read the book in a day -- which is fast for me -- and I left with more things to think about than things forgotten.

Too often books on writing talk about starting with note cards, then story boarding, then move into characters, etc. (still a lot of value in that by the way!) But, as I read this book, I was reading about a crazy approach of simply writing your story, then "fixing" and figuring out all that other stuff after the fact.

At the time, it was is mind-blowing and backwards to all the other writing advice books out there. BUT the more you examine the process (and see the thousands who have completed the challenge) belief takes root that it is possible for everyone to write a novel. . .if they want to. This book helped me realize I may not write a "good" novel in 30-days, but write 50,000 words of a first draft in 30-days was totally within my ability to do.

The book contains great advice for surviving the four weeks and there are many tips that I don't want to share any spoilers. You simply need to read the book for yourself and then take the challenge.

I know now that I'm more prepared, due to a bit of direction found in this easy to read and entertaining book.

**Updated NOTES**
I still refer to this book each year. Since first reading this book I have succeed in completing this monthly challenge in 2005 through 2009, then again 2011 through 2015.

Like 2015, I'm approaching 2016 with trepidation because, I'm yet again, a returning college student and my courses are no joke. . .plus. . .I'm the sole provider for our family and a dozen other commitments. What makes NaNoWriMo less daunting is having a plan (before November) and using the tips found in this book (during November). Thus, I know, based on previous year success, that it is still very doable!

For me, the biggest tip the book gives -- that I still use year after year -- is Chris' suggestion of how to punch out 6K words in one session.

Please realize, NaNoWriMo is not about putting down discovery writers or outline writers. Both can succeed with this challenge.
But for me personally, I find myself able to punch out 50K words a lot faster and easier when I have a scene-by-scene outline. It took a while for me to let my discovery writing days go by the wayside, but once I saw the results in sheer number of new words on paper due to outlining, I haven't looked back.

Also, I've taken the essence of this book and when November 1st comes around I've written to my outline; not letting the internal editor stop me. This is the CORE of the book...not so much being a discovery writer vs. outliner, but a writer who doesn't stop to edit for the duration of the challenge.

Good luck to all those getting ready of 2016 NaNoWriMo.

Get the book. It's worth it!!

Chris Baty, the author of No Plot? No Problem, is the founder of National Novel Writing Month, a bizarre, web-based movement, now in its sixth year, in which would-be novelists are invited to unleash their inner muses, register (for free) at the NaNoWriMo website (NaNoWriMo.org), and crank out the rough draft of a novel during the month of November. Incredibly, more than 25,000 people attempted to do just that in November of 2003, with some 3500 of them crossing the finishing line. (Anyone who writes 50,000 words in the allotted time is declared a winner.) No Plot? No Problem is Baty's brief (about 50,000 words) and breezy companion volume to the literary marathon.

In the first part of his book Baty offers readers mostly playful advice. Those undertaking the month-long novel-writing challenge are advised to turn their loved ones into effective agents of guilt, for example. Writers, too, are urged to procure a "wearable, writing-enhancing object" such as a baseball cap, the better both to put themselves in the mood to write and to signal to family members "that you've slipped away into the shadowy Realm of the Novel, and that you are not to be disturbed unless they--or one of the more likable of the family pets--are on fire." Baty also provides practical advice about carving out time in one's schedule for writing. (One past NaNoWriMo winner, a woman from Indiana, reports escaping from her children to find writing time on the toilet. This may be the way things are done in the Midwest, but I'm afraid a bathroom door is insufficient to stop the determined young of New England.)

In the second, more meaty part of his book Baty provides a week-by-week guide (intended to be read at the appropriate points in the novel-writing month) to the writing process, with week-appropriate pep talks, exercises, and tips. (For example, the tips provided for week one "center on leveraging the adrenaline rush of the first few days, avoiding the pernicious desire to self-edit as you write, creating a convenient home for your castaway thoughts, and maintaining the momentum by keeping your story a mystery to those around you.") These four week-specific chapters are followed by a helpful section on the rewrite, the more exacting business of turning one's raw, hastily-scribbled prose into a passable novel once your novel-writing month is over.

No Plot? No Problem probably does not provide any advice about writing that readers would not be able to find elsewhere. But Baty is a very good, funny writer, and his enthusiasm for this insane project is infectious. Having begun his fetching* little book a skeptic, you'll finish thinking that writing a novel in a month is not so daft an enterprise after all. It may be that Baty's argument for casting aside one's inhibitions and striving for quantity of words over quality will be just the inspiration you need to sit down and produce a viable first draft.

* I love the book's subtly-textured, colorful cover, but the dark gray background of the book's inset notes make for difficult reading.

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

****
This is a fun and funky kit for participants in the National Novel Writing Month experience (NaNoWriMo), which takes place every November. Note that although it includes a short (44 page) book, it is not the same as the author's full-length book of the same title. I view "No Plot? No Problem" (the full length book) as an important asset to NaNoWriMo. This kit, however, is strictly for those who want to have fun with stickers, buttons, a rolled-up contract, and more. It is for those who want to go all out for NaNoWriMo, and who want some "toys" to help them have an even better time. If money is tight, spend it elsewhere, as you can make most of these things yourself. If you don't mind the cost, and know that it's all just for fun, then buy and enjoy it as I did.

In this video I open the kit and show you everything inside. The video is just under 4 minutes.
****